Many games, both interactive and sole participant, have been developed through the years and which have the primary purpose of amusement only, that is, it was the intent of the inventors to delight the player or participant rather than instill in two or more players a competitive or combative spirit. An almost negligible portion of these games, if of the purely amusement type, were composed of two or more characters, dolls or game devices. It seemed to the inventor that if one were to amuse oneself by observing a game that related to a combative sport (boxing, wrestling, karate, etc.), he would have to view television, cinema or attend such a function, in person.
I devised the present invention so that a child of tender years could be amused by a two-character game, specifically wrestling or any game which included body grips and unusual physical contortions or postures, without being compelled to face violent situations or a rival in order to enjoy the game. Also after watching younger children enjoy cartoons and television shows dealing with today's superheros, I felt there was a compelling need to provide such an amusement device that would allow the child to simply enjoy the game as an observer, without being inundated by the superfluous media that today attends such events.
One of the first attempts to provide amusement of the aforementioned type, was that disclosed by Watkins in his AMUSEMENT DEVICE, U.S. Pat. No. 1,167,958. The Watkins invention embodied a pair of jointed puppets that employed interactive manipulative means to effect a boxing activity. The doll employed in the Watkins device used pivoting at the hip joints and at the shoulder joints.
Unfortunately, this pivotable jointing allowed only a single degree of freedom (rotational) for the members so joined. The interactive play of the rival players comprised a jiggling or up-and-down motion which was imparted to the dolls by a string-pulley arrangement. A single connection between the dolls of this invention, at the boxers' abdomens, served to maintain the dolls at the same proximity. Although this mechanism served Watkins well, it would not suffice in my invention since the posture of wrestlers is one of almost constant interconnectivity which could not be served by either the singular hip and arm rotational motions, the held-apart relationship of the dolls or the jiggling action.
In 1938, Mangold disclosed, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,114,657 an ADVERTISING AND AMUSEMENT DEVICE that required only single participant (or drive means) activity and effected a pair of boxers engaged in the sport while suspended over, but not touching, a horizontal surface. Intermittent or momentary fixed contact was made between the fighters by the placement of small spikes on their hands. When contact was made by the fist of one fighter with the body of the other, the spikes would momentarily penetrate the body of the struck fighter. Thus, as with the Watkins invention, Mangold's could at best effect only an intermittent coupling or clinching, which is not satisfactory for a wrestling-type amusement device. Further, even though Mangold employed connections to the heads of his figures, the motion imparted to them was a jiggling motion rather than a twisting and turning motion which is more common in wrestling and in the prolonged body contacting sports.
One invention having only a single figure was disclosed by Gardel, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,384, in 1972. The singular doll figure was attached to a motive mechanism, at its head. It was the purpose of the motive mechanism to impart a regular torquing motion to the figure which possessed interconnected moveable arms and thighs. Because this doll was to effect the motions of a ballerina, the arm and leg motions were of necessity synchronized. This very clever amusement device well suited the objectives of the inventor; but those objectives led to the creation of a device which was inappropriate for effecting the motions of two figures, notably wrestlers. In order to provide a suitable wrestling simulation amusement device, it was necessary to overcome the limitations of the prior art by providing a motor means which torqued rather than jiggled the characters, dolls or figures. Further, it was found necessary to provide connections essentially at the head of one of the figures so that a twisting motion rather than a jiggling motion could be imparted to it. Finally, a means was devised for imparting an irregular twisting motion as well as a stylized interconnectivity or coupling between the figures to assure a form of continued gripping and clinching contact.
In carrying out the invention I have employed a pair of human-like figures of the same shape and dimension, fashioned out of a relatively light-weight material such as balsa wood or polystyrene. The heads of the figures are attached by slender flexible shafts, preferably wire, to the clavicle portion of the body. The arms of both figures are formed circularly, the fore and upper arms being rigid and fixedly joined together. The hands of each figure are joined and actually comprise either a singular loop of wire or an interlinked pair of clevises; thus, each figure's forearms are joined by a "hand". The upper arms pivot at the shoulder and thus, in their rigid circular posture, can move with only a single degree of freedom (rotational). In my preferred embodiment, the hand loop of the second figure is pivotally fixed about the neck shaft of the first figure. This is done in order that the motion or torque which will be applied, to the first figure only, will serve to carry the second figure along with the first. Continuing with the construction of the figures, rigid thighs are fixedly joined, at predetermined angles, to rigid lower legs. The thighs are joined to the hip positions of the figures by links that allow essentially two degrees of freedom movement. The remaining portion of the body comprises fixedly joined foot portions that may be joined to the lower ends of the lower legs in varying angular relationship.
The figures are suspended above a frictional surface that will have the effect of retarding or restricting the sliding or moving motion of the figures as they sweep over it. A single wire is connected to a clevis located on the top of the head of the first figure and it is through this wire that an intermittent torque is applied to the assembled apparatus. The means which I have employed for applying intermittent torque to my invention is a very thin, flexible wire which has the ability to store a rotational force (torque) as spring tension. Those familiar with the art will recognize that several means of imparting intermittent torque are possible, including an intermittently operated motor, a flexible spring such as employed by the inventor, a rotating shaft which has been linked to the head of the first figure by a coiled spring, rubber bands, or other suitable tension-storing device or the application of the torque through a slip-clutch transmission.
To operate the invention and effect the various wrestling postures, it is only necessary to impart a torquing moment to the top of the head of the first figure. The frictional surface has a tendency to constrain the first figure (and the second figure which is connected to the first) in its rest position. The torquing force builds and is aggregated by the tension storing mechanism until enough force is accumulated to overcome the frictional constraint on the figures, as well as rest inertia, and the first figure abruptly breaks free of the restraining surface. The second figure, teathered to the first by its hand-neck connection, is literally dragged and twisted along with the first figure. The momentum of the twisting figures rapidly releases the tension in the tension storage means and imparts, by inertia, a countertorque back along to the motive means. At this point, the figures come to rest in an entirely different posture. The continual or intermittent application of the torquing force, combined with the near-instantaneous break away of the figures from the constraining medium, allows the observer to witness myriad postural relationships between the figures that very closely emulate a wrestling pair.
Other objects of the invention and other amusement applications as may be hereinafter devised should become apparent from practice with the novel elements of the preferred embodiment. Such objects and varying applications are meant to be limited therefore only by the appended claims .